Urban population growth in Canada
Canada: Urban population growth was 1.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Canada, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in Canada stood at 1.2%.
The figure is down 64.0% on the previous year and up 43.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Canada peaked at 3.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2015.
That places Canada 116th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.8% | 2.1% | 3.1% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.4% | 1.0% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.3% | 1.0% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.2% | 0.8% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.9% | 0.8% | 3.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More climate change data for Canada
- Population growth 0.9% (2025)
- Population, total 41.65 million (2025)
- Urban population 34.52 million (2025)
- Urban population 82.9% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 44.0% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 36.13 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 1.3% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 12.9% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 11.6% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 9.2% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Canada?
- Urban population growth in Canada was 1.2% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 3.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2015.
- How does Canada rank for urban population growth?
- Canada ranks 116th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.